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Teachers union sues over performance reviews

About a third of Rochester teachers were graded as either "developing" or "ineffective" in 2012-13 on their Annual Professional Performance Reviews (APPR), compared to a statewide rate of about 5 percent, according to the suit.

Teachers union sues over performance reviews

The Rochester Teachers Association has filed a class action lawsuit against the New York State Education Department for an alleged failure to account for disparate student poverty levels in statewide teacher ratings, opening the door for a legal review of the controversial evaluations.

The Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) for 2012-13, its first year, showed about 35 percent of Rochester teachers are either "developing" or "ineffective," meaning they received a score of 74 or less out of 100, according to the union.

By comparison, only 5.4 percent of teachers statewide (excluding New York City) had poor scores, according to state data.

That, union leaders said, is evidence the scores are biased against teachers with mostly poor children in their classrooms.

"Rochester teachers work with some of the most disadvantaged students in the state," Richard Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers, said in a statement. "They should not face stigmatizing labels based on discredited tests and the state's inability to adequately account for the impact of extreme poverty when measuring growth."

About 90 percent of Rochester students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

The union and about 100 teachers filed the suit in state Supreme Court in Albany County and are seeking class action status on behalf of the 580 or so Rochester teachers who received a poor evaluation. They asked the court to declare the teacher scores invalid and a violation of the teachers' equal protection rights.

The APPR teacher scores have three parts: 60 percent is an assessment by a supervisor based on class visits and review of student work; 20 percent is a measure of student growth based on test scores; and another 20 percent is "locally selected measures of student learning."

It's the student growth portion that the union especially objects to. State guidelines say the growth scores, given for math and language tests in grades 4-8, "use special considerations for students with disabilities, English language learners (and) students in poverty," but according to the lawsuit, that mechanism didn't work, and an adjustment allowance for teachers was capped at two points out of 100.

Teachers in subjects besides math and language and in grades outside 4-8 get a score based on a negotiated consideration of "student learning objectives," and the lawsuit alleges the state unfairly restricted the terms of those agreements as well.

According to the teachers union, just 2 percent of Rochester teachers were rated less than effective by their administrators, compared to 35 percent who were found less than effective when test scores were taken into account.

State data has not been released in full, but data collected by the state teachers union shows that in districts in New York where more than 80 percent of students receive free and reduced lunches, 25 percent of teachers received less than effective ratings. By comparison, in districts where fewer than 20 percent of students get free or reduced price lunch, only 1 percent of teachers were rated less than effective.

In other words, teachers with poor students were 25 times more likely to be found deficient than those with affluent students.

"No one in their right mind thinks that Rochester teachers are (that much) less qualified or credentialed or caring," Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski said. "The outcomes, in and of themselves, are an indictment of the process."

Rick Amico has been teaching in Rochester for 19 years and currently teaches social studies at Robert Brown High School of Construction and Design. He received 69 points out of 100, placing him in the "developing" category.

He said he got a perfect 60 on the in-school review portion, meaning he earned only nine out of 40 points based on test scores.

"I was very disappointed, but not surprised considering the format of the evaluation process," he said. "A lot of factors that are outside my control are being brought into the classroom. … When (students) are in my room, I can take care of that, but once they leave I can't do anything. I hope they do their homework, but their home life and environment are directly affecting their achievement."

A state spokesman said the education department does not comment on pending litigation. Informational materials on the department website say that poverty levels are accounted for in the ratings.

Teachers across the state have railed against APPR for a variety of reasons, but the allegation of a poor schools penalty has galvanized large urban districts in particular.

Teachers in Syracuse and Yonkers also received comparatively poor marks, and Urbanski said unions there are considering joining the RTA lawsuit or filing their own.

Yonkers Federation of Teachers President Patricia Puleo confirmed her union will likely join the lawsuit once it has exhausted the appeal process. She said 16 percent of her teachers were rated less than effective, with most of those teaching either special education or English as a second language.

"We're just a few steps behind Rochester in wanting to know where these scores come from," she said. "We don't have librarians; we don't have guidance counselors; we don't have pre-K; we have class sizes over 30. Who are you comparing us to?"

5.4: percentage of teachers statewide rated less than effective (excluding New York City)*

35: approximate percentage of Rochester teachers rated less than effective**

2.9: percentage of teachers rated less than effective in 24 other districts surrounding Rochester**

1: percentage of teachers in low-poverty districts across the state rated less than effective**

25: percentage of teachers in high-poverty districts across the state rated less than effective**

* - New York State Education Department data

** - Rochester Teachers Association and/or New York State United Teachers data

How APPR scores are calculated

Each teacher's APPR score comprises three sections: 60 percent for an assessment by a supervisor; 20 percent for student growth; and 20 percent for other local achievement data.

For math and language classes in grades 4-8, students are scored based on how much they improved over the previous year's test when compared to other students statewide who fit a similar demographic profile in categories including poverty, disability and English language proficiency. Teachers' scores are a composite of individual students' scores.

For other subjects and at other grade levels, the teachers union and the district come up with an alternate model for measuring student growth called "student learning objectives." The state approves that model and has guidelines on what it includes.

Starting in 2014-15, the student growth metric will make up 25 percent of the overall APPR score and the local achievement metric will decline to 15 percent.